TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] This invention relates to rimless eyeglasses having no rim, for holding the outer
periphery of a lens.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Conventionally, such rimless glasses are known, for example as described in Patent
Literature 1.
[0003] Patent Literature 1 discloses rimless eyeglasses which comprise a lens fixing member
which is fixedly attached to an eyeglass lens and a connecting member which is connected
to a temple or to a bridge, to which the lens fixing member and the connecting member
are detachably connected. The eyeglass lens and the lens fixing member are fixed in
such a form that the cylinder-shaped leg portion of the lens fixing member, which
is formed of a resin, is inserted into a lens hole formed in the lens.
[0004] Also, Patent Literature 2 describes rimless eyeglasses which are designed such that
a pair of right and left lenses are coupled and held by use of a metallic bridge,
which has edge contact portions in parallel-line form capable of making linear contact
with the inner edges of the lenses and inner piercing portions capable of passing
through bridge locking holes respectively formed in portions of the lenses in the
vicinity of the lens inner edges, and also by use of metallic end-pieces each of which
has an edge contact portion in parallel-line form capable of making line contact with
the outer edge of the lens and an outer piercing portion capable of passing through
an end-piece locking hole formed in a portion of the lens in the vicinity of the lens
outer edge.
[0005] In general, the gap between each of such lens holes and the member inserted therethrough
is then filled with an adhesive.
[0006] However, such conventional eyeglasses undergo the problem of looseness produced between
the eyeglass lens and the lens fixing member, for example, when the eyeglasses are
continuously used for a long time, since the cylinder-shaped leg portion of the lens
fixing member is simply inserted into a lens hole formed in the eyeglass lens in order
to fix it to the eyeglass lens.
[0007] It is also conceivable to use an adhesive together to prevent the occurrence of such
loosening. In this case, however, although the problem associated with the loosening
is remedied, there is another problem of making maintenance operations such as lens
replacement difficult. In particular, when both the eyeglass lens and the lens fixing
portion are Formed of plastic, since the bonded portion is not easily separated, the
only way to separate them is to break the eyeglass lens itself or the lens fixing
portion itself, which is a significant problem.
[0008] It is an object of the present invention to solve such conventional problems and
provide rimless eyeglasses in which loosening does not occur in the connecting area
between an eyeglass lens and a lens fixing portion, and which also allows for the
easy attachment or removal of a lens.
[0009]
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-53689
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Registered Utility Model No. 3007846
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0010] Rimless eyeglasses according to an aspect of the present invention attaining the
above object comprise eyeglass lenses, an eyeglass component having a lens fixing
portion fixedly attached to the eyeglass lens, and a connecting portion connected
to either a temple or a bridge. The lens fixing portion of the eyeglass component
has a cylindrical leg portion inserted into a lens hole formed in the eyeglass lens,
and a spiral-shaped groove is formed in the outer peripheral face of the leg portion.
[0011] With this structure, the cylindrical leg portion of the lens fixing portion of the
eyeglass component is inserted into the lens hole formed in the eyeglass lens, whereby
the lens fixing portion of the eyeglass component is fixedly attached to the eyeglass
lens. At this stage, since the spiral-shaped groove is formed in the outer peripheral
face of the leg portion, the inner peripheral face of the lens hole and the outer
peripheral face of the leg portion come into approximately uniform contact with each
other. As a result, loosening does not occur in the connecting area, and also the
eyeglass component and the lens are easily attached or removed.
[0012] The spiral-shaped groove may be a single strip or a plurality of strips.
[0013] In the case of a plurality of strips, the strips may be wound in directions different
from each other.
[0014] Further, preferably, the lens fixing portion is adhesively bonded to the eyeglass
lens by injecting an adhesive into the spiral groove.
[0015] With this structure, since an adhesive can reliably fill the spiral-shaped groove,
the adhesive runs evenly through the entire region of the connecting area between
the inner peripheral face of the lens hole and the outer peripheral face of the leg
portion, thus a reliable fixed attachment can be achieved. Accordingly, the leg portion
is prevented from slipping out of the lens hole, and also backlash and play between
them are not produced at all.
[0016] Preferably, also, a flat face having a width greater than the width of the groove
is formed on the area between the turns of the spiral-shaped groove.
[0017] With this structure, since the contact between the inner peripheral face of the lens
hole and the outer peripheral face of the leg portion is made on the flat face having
a greater width, facial pressure on the eyeglass lens is reduced, making the occurrence
of a fracture difficult. In addition, the adhesive also acts as a shock absorber,
making it possible to further inhibit such occurrence of a fracture.
[0018] Further, preferably, the eyeglass lenses are made of plastic and the lens fixing
portion is made of metal.
[0019] With this structure, because adhesives generally produce a weaker adhesive force
between materials of different natures than that between materials of the same nature,
the bond caused by the adhesive is easily broken without damage to the eyeglass lens
by rotating the eyeglass lens and the lens fixing member relative to each other.
[0020] Further, the eyeglass component may be an end-piece of which the connecting portion
is connected to the temple through a hinge, or alternatively be a bridge including
the lens fixing portion and the connecting portion, and formed of a single wire rod.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021]
Fig. 1 shows rimless eyeglasses according to a first embodiment of the present invention,
in which (A) is a front view, (B) is a top plan view and (C) is a side view;
Fig. 2 shows a metallic end-piece member which is an eyeglass component of the rimless
eyeglasses according to the first embodiment of the present invention, in which in
which (A) is a front view, (B) is a top plan view and (C) is a side view;
Fig. 3 shows a metallic bridge member which is an eyeglass component of the rimless
eyeglasses according to the first embodiment of the present invention, in which in
which (A) is a front view, (B) is a top plan view and (C) is a side view;
Fig. 4 illustrates enlarged side views each showing a leg portion of the metallic
end-piece member and a leg portion of the metallic bridge member which are eyeglass
components of the rimless eyeglasses according to the first embodiment of the present
invention, in which (A) shows the case of forming a spiral-shaped groove in the form
of a single strip, in a leg and (B) shows the case of forming a spiral-shaped groove
in the form of a plurality of strips, in a leg;
Fig. 5 illustrates side views each showing how to attach the metallic end-piece member
which is an eyeglass component of the rimless eyeglasses to an eyeglass lens according
to the first embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) shows a state before
coupling and (B) shows a state after coupling;
Fig. 6 illustrates a side view showing how to inject an adhesive into a spiral-shaped
groove of the rimless eyeglasses according to the first embodiment of the present
invention;
Fig. 7 illustrates a sectional view showing the state when the adhesive fills the
spiral-shaped groove of the rimless eyeglasses according to the first embodiment of
the present invention;
Fig. 8 illustrates front views each showing how to remove the metallic end-piece member
from the rimless eyeglasses according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 9 shows rimless eyeglasses according to a second embodiment of the present invention,
in which (A) is a front view, (B) is a top plan view and (C) is a side view; and
Fig. 10 shows a metallic end-piece member which is an eyeglass component of the rimless
eyeglasses according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which in
which (A) is a front view, (B) is a top plan view and (C) is a side view
EXPLANATION OF REFERENCES
[0022]
- 100U, 100S
- RIMLESS EYEGLASSES
- 110U, 110S
- EYEGLASS LENS
- 112U, 112S
- LENS HOLE
- 120U, 120S
- METALLIC END-PIECE MEMBER
- 122U, 1225
- LEG PORTION
- 124U, 124S
- ARM PORTION
- 128
- SPIRAL-SHAPED GROOVE
- 129
- FLAT FACE
- 130
- METALLIC BRIDGE MEMBER
- 132
- LEG PORTION
- 134
- ARM PORTION
- 138
- SPIRAL-SHAPED GROOVE
- 139
- FLAT FACE
- 160
- HINGE
- 170
- TEMPLE
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0023] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the
accompanying drawings. It should be noted that as used herein, terms used to express
directions such as "back and forth", "right and left" and "upper and lower" express
directions as when the eyeglasses are worn on a person in the usual way.
[0024] In (A) to (C) of Fig. 1, rimless eyeglasses 100U according to a first embodiment
of the present invention comprise right and left plastic-made lenses 110U, right and
left metallic end-piece members 120U, a metallic bridge member 130, the end-piece
members 120U, and the bridge member 130 being eyeglass components fixedly attached
to the lenses 110U. It should be noted that, in the first embodiment, as clearly seen
from (A) to (C) of Fig. 1, each of the lenses 110U has a bridge-side lens hole 112Uin
and an end-piece-side lens hole 112Uup respectively perforated at positions close
to the inner edge and the upper edge thereof at different vertical levels. In this
connection, when a lens hole is referred to without the need to make a distinction
between the bridge-side lens hole and the end-piece-side lens hole, the term "112U"
is used in the first embodiment.
[0025] As shown in detail in (A) to (C) of Fig. 2, each of the metallic end-piece members
120U has a leg portion 122U serving as a lens fixing portion which is to be fixedly
attached in the lens, and an arm portion 124U serving as a connecting portion, which
is connected to a temple. Then, in the present embodiment, a U-shaped curved portion
126U is interposed between the leg portion 122U and the arm portion 124U of the metallic
end-piece member 120U, one end of which is formed in a continuous straight line to
the leg portion 122U and the other end of which is contiguous to the arm portion 124U
via an approximately right-angled portion. In addition, the arm portion 124U is designed
in a shape gently curved from the right-angled portion in a downward and backward
direction, allowing the portion thereof close to the U-shaped curved portion 126U
to make contact with the upper edge portion of the lens 110U. In the present embodiment,
the metallic end-piece member 120U includes the leg portion 122U, the arm portion
124U and the U-shaped curved portion 126U, which is formed of one metal wire rod of,
for example, a flexible material having easy-bending properties such as a nickel-chromium
alloy, a nickel-titanium alloy or the like. Then, a spiral-shaped groove in the form
of a single strip 128 is formed in the outer peripheral face of the cylindrical leg
portion 122U. As for the spiral-shaped groove 128, as enlarged and shown in (A) of
Fig. 4, a flat face 129 having a greater width B than the width A of the groove is
formed on the area between the turns of the spiral-shaped groove 128.
[0026] In addition, an approximately drum-shaped socket member 162 of a later-described
hinge 160 is provided on one end of the arm portion 124U of the metallic end-piece
member 120U. Then, the end of the arm portion 124U is coupled to a temple 170 through
the hinge 160. It should be noted that the temple 170 may be formed integrally with
the arm portion 124U without the hinge 160.
[0027] On the other hand, the metallic bridge member 130 has leg portions 132, which are
lens fixing portions fixedly attached to the lenses, and arm portions 134 serving
as connecting portions connected to the bridge, as shown in detail in (A) to (C) of
Fig. 3. It should be noted that the leg portions 132 and the arm portions 134 connected
to a later-described connecting portion 137 have paired relationships, and that reference
numerals are attached to only one of the paired leg portions 132 and only one of the
paired arm portions 134 in (A) and (B) of Fig. 3 for the sake of simplification of
the drawings.
[0028] In the present embodiment, the arm portion 134 of the metallic bridge member 130
has a U-shaped curved portion 135 and a right-angled bent portion 136 contiguous to
the curved portion 13 5, in which the leg portion 132 is formed in a continuous straight
line as one of the extensions of the U-shaped curved portion 135. The ends of the
respective right-angled bent portions 136 of the arm portions 134 are connected to
the connecting portion 137 serving as the bridge. The metallic bridge member 130 includes
the leg portions 132, the arm portions 134 and the connecting portion 137, which is
similarly formed as a one-piece bridge of one metal wire rod of, for example, a flexible
material having easy-bending properties such as a nickel-chromium alloy, a nickel-titanium
alloy or the like. It should be noted that nose-pad attaching members 144, which comprise
U-shaped curved portions 142 to which nose pads, not shown, are attached, are respectively
joined to both the arm portions 134 of the metallic bridge member 130 which are coupled
to each other through the connecting portion 137.
[0029] Then, as in the case of the metallic end-piece member 120U, a spiral-shaped groove
138 is formed in the outer peripheral face of the cylindrical leg portion 132. The
spiral-shaped groove 138 is identical in form with the spiral-shaped groove 128 in
the leg portion 122U of the aforementioned metallic end-piece member 120U. Accordingly,
as additionally designated by the reference numerals in (A) of Fig. 4, a flat face
139 having a greater width B than the width A of the groove is formed on the area
between the turns of the spiral-shaped groove 138.
[0030] Next, the hinge 160 and the temple 170 will be briefly described mainly with reference
to (A) to (C) of Fig. 1 and (A) and (B) of Fig. 5. In the present embodiment, the
hinge 160 is formed by a combination of the approximately drum-shaped socket member
162 and a J-shaped bent portion 172 formed at the end of the temple 170. More specifically,
the socket member 162 has a through-hole perforated at the center, and a groove extending
in the circumferential direction at the outer periphery of the socket member 162.
In the present embodiment, further, the socket member 162 is formed integrally with
the aforementioned metallic end-piece member 120U by way of joining the end of the
arm portion 124U of the metallic end-piece member 120U to its outer peripheral portion.
[0031] The J-shaped bent portion 172, which is formed at the end of the temple 170 formed
of a metal wire rod (for example, a flexible material such as a titanium alloy, a
nickel-chromium alloy, a nickel-titanium alloy or the like), comprises a first leg
portion inserted through the through hole of the socket member 162 and a second leg
portion contiguous to the first leg portion, and is designed such that, when the first
leg portion is inserted through the through hole, the socket member 162 is elastically
held between the first leg portion and the second leg portion. In addition, the second
leg portion is formed such that the second leg portion is bent at an acute angle with
respect to the linear shaped portion of the end of the temple 170, and thus the outer
peripheral portion of the portion thus bent engages with the groove extending in the
circumferential direction in the aforementioned socket member 162.
[0032] In the first embodiment of the present invention, the rimless eyeglasses 100U are
assembled and completed through the following procedure. First, each of the leg portions
132 of the metallic bridge member 130 is inserted from the back side of the lens 110U
into the lens hole 112Uin perforated in the bridge-side portion of the lens 110U,
and the leg portion 122U of the metallic end-piece member 120U is inserted from the
back side of the lens 110U into the lens hole 112Uup perforated in end-piece-side
portion of the lens 110U, in order to fixedly attach both the metallic bridge member
130 and the metallic end-piece member 120U to the lens 110U. It should be noted that,
(A) of Fig. 5 shows by way of example how to insert the metallic end-piece member
120U. At this stage, regarding the metallic bridge member 130, the curvature of the
U-shaped curved portion 135 and the perforation position of the bridge-side lens hole
112Uin are determined such that the lens hole 112Uin and the inner edge of the lens
110U are elastically clamped by use of the leg portion 132 which is formed as one
of linear extension parts of the U-shaped curved portion 135, and the right-angled
bent portion 136 connected to the other part of the U-shaped curved portion 135. On
the other hand, regarding the metallic end-piece member 120U, the degree of curve
of the arm portion 124U and the perforation position of the end-piece-side lens hole
112Uup are determined such that the lens hole 112Uup and the upper edge of the lens
110U are elastically clamped by use of the leg portion 122U and a part of the arm
portion 124U which is in contact with the upper edge of the lens 110U and is close
to the U-shaped curved portion 126U (see (A) of Fig. 1).
[0033] Here, as enlarged and shown in (A) of Fig. 4, the outer peripheral faces of the leg
portion 122U of the metallic end-piece member 120U and the leg portion 132 of the
metallic bridge member 130, respectively, have a spiral-shaped groove in the form
of asingle strip, 128 and 138 formed therein, and flat faces 129 and 139 formed on
the area between the turns of the spiral-shaped groove, which have a greater width
B than the width A of the groove. Because of this, the inner peripheral face of the
lens hole 112U and the outer peripheral face of each of the leg portions 122U and
132 come into approximately uniform contact with each other. Accordingly, a fixed
attachment among the lens 110U, the metallic end-piece member 120U and the metallic
bridge member 130 is reliably established without producing loosening in the connecting
areas between them. In addition, since the contact between the inner peripheral face
of the lens hole 112U and the outer peripheral face of each of the leg portions 122U
and 132 is achieved on the flat face which has a greater width, the facial pressure
on the eyeglass lens 110U is reduced, making the occurrence of a fracture difficult.
[0034] It should be noted that in order to further ensure such a fixed attachment, as illustrated
in Fig. 6, an adhesive may be injected into the spiral-shaped grooves 128 and 138.
Specifically, each of the leg portions 122U and 132 is inserted into the lens hole
112U such that its leading end slightly protrudes from the front face of the lens
110U and also such that the head end or the tail end of each of the spiral-shaped
grooves 128 and 13 is exposed on the front face of the lens 110U. Therefore, as an
adhesive S is injected from the exposed head or tail end of the spiral-shaped grooves
128 and 138, the adhesive S easily flows into the spiral-shaped grooves 128 and 138
as illustrated in Fig. 7. As a result, the adhesive S runs evenly through the spiral-shaped
grooves 128 and 138 of the legs 122U and 132, thus a reliable fixed attachment can
be achieved. The adhesive S also acts as a shock absorber, which makes it possible
to further inhibit the occurrence of a fracture in the aforementioned eyeglass lens
110U.
[0035] Then, finally, as illustrated in (A) of Fig. 5, the temple 170 is coupled to the
approximately drum-shaped socket member 162 formed integrally with the metallic end-piece
member 120U. Specifically, the first leg portion of the J-shaped bent portion 172
formed at the end of the temple 170 is inserted into the through hole of the socket
member 162, and similarly the bent portion of the second leg portion is engaged with
the groove extending in the circumferential direction, in order to elastically hold
the socket member 162 between the first leg portion and the second leg portion. Thus,
the rimless eyeglasses 100U are completed by coupling the components to one another
without using any screw or the like.
[0036] For reference, the order of the steps in the aforementioned assembling procedure
may be changed. For example, the metallic end-piece member 120U may be initially attached,
then the temple 170 may be coupled, after which the metallic bridge member 130 may
be attached.
[0037] Further, when the lens 110U needs replacing, the replacement can be carried out by
the following procedure. Specifically, each of the regions of the metallic end-piece
member 120U and the metallic bridge member 130, which are at a predetermined distance
from the respective leg portions 122U and 132 are grasped by hand, and then the end-piece
member 120U or the bridge member 130 is moved vertically such that a relative rotation
of about 20 degrees is produced about the leg portion 122U or 132, as illustrated
in (A) and (B) of Fig. 8. In this manner, even when the spiral-shaped groove 128 or
138 is filled with an adhesive, the adhesive filling the spiral-shaped groove is scraped
off, so that the metallic end-piece member 120U or the metallic bridge member 130
can be easily removed without need for a special tool or the like. It should be noted
that (A) and (B) of Fig. 8 illustrate only the case of removing the metallic end-piece
member 120U, but it goes without saying that the metallic bridge member 130 can be
removed in a similar manner.
[0038] Further, in order to reuse the metallic end-piece member 120U and the metallic bridge
member 130, which have been removed in the above manner, the adhesive adhering to
the spiral-shaped grooves 128 and 138 can be removed simply by means of brushing or
the like. The lens 110U can also be used by re-passing a drill through the lens hole
112 for removal of the adhering adhesive.
[0039] Next, rimless eyeglasses 100S according to a second embodiment of the present invention
will be described. The rimless eyeglasses 100S according to the second embodiment
differ from the aforementioned rimless eyeglasses 100U according to the first embodiment
only in the shape of the metallic end-piece member which is an eyeglass component
thereof, and in the perforation position of the lens hole thus involved. Accordingly,
the differences alone will be described below to avoid repetition.
[0040] Specifically, in (A) to (C) of Fig. 9, the rimless eyeglasses 100S according to the
second embodiment comprise right and left plastic-made lenses 110S, right and left
metallic end-piece members 120S and a metallic bridge member 130, the end-piece members
120S and the bridge member 130 being eyeglass components fixedly attached to the lenses
110S. It should noted that, in the second embodiment, as clearly seen from (A) to
(C) of Fig. 9, each of the lenses 110S has a bridge-side lens hole 112Sin and an end-piece-side
lens hole 112Sout respectively perforated in positions close to the inner edge and
to the outer edge thereof at approximately the same vertical level. In this connection,
when the lens hole is referred to without the need to make a distinction between the
bridge-side lens hole and the end-piece-side lens hole, the term "112S" is used in
the second embodiment.
[0041] As shown in detail in (A) to (C) of Fig. 10, each of the metallic end-piece members
120S according to the second embodiment has a leg portion 122S serving as a lens fixing
portion which is to be fixedly attached in the lens, and an arm portion 124S serving
as a connecting portion connected to a temple. Then, in the second embodiment, a first
U-shaped curved portion 125S and a second U-shaped curved portion 126S are interposed
between the leg portion 122S and the arm portion 124S of the metallic end-piece member
120S. One part of the first U-shaped curved portion 125S is formed in a continuous
straight line to the leg portion 122S and the other part serves as one part of the
second U-shaped curved portion 126S, while the other part of the second U-shaped curved
portion 126S is formed contiguously to the arm portion 124S. In addition, the arm
portion 124S is gently curved outward from the portion where it connects to the second
U-shaped curved portion 126S. The metallic end-piece member 120S includes the leg
portion 122S, the first U-shaped curved portion 125S, the second U-shaped curved portion
126S and the arm portion 124S, which is also formed of one metal wire rod of, for
example, a flexible material having easy-bending properties such as a nickel-chromium
alloy, a nickel-titanium alloy or the like, in the embodiment. Then, a spiral-shaped
groove 128 is formed in the outer peripheral face of the cylindrical leg portion 122S.
Regarding the spiral-shaped groove 128, as enlarged and shown in (A) of Fig. 4, as
in the case of the first embodiment, a flat face 129 having a greater width B than
the width A of the groove is formed on the area between the turns of the spiral-shaped
groove 128.
[0042] In addition, similarly to the first embodiment, an approximately drum-shaped socket
member 162 of a hinge 160 is provided on one end of the arm portion 124S of the metallic
end-piece member 120S. The end of the arm portion 124S is then coupled to a temple
170 through the hinge 160. It be should be noted that the temple 170 may be formed
integrally without the hinge 160, as described earlier.
[0043] It should be noted that, in the second embodiment, the metallic bridge member 130
is the same as that in the first embodiment, and the leg portion 132 of the metallic
bridge member 130 is inserted into the bridge-side lens hole 112Sin and fixedly attached
to the lens 110S. On the other hand, regarding the metallic end-piece member 120S,
the degree of curve of the first U-shaped curved portion 125S and the perforation
position of the end-piece-side lens hole 112Uout are determined such that the lens
hole 112Uout and the outer edge of the lens 1105 are elastically clamped by use of
the leg portion 122S and the second U-shaped curved portion 126S which is in contact
with the outer edge of the lens 110S.
[0044] In the second embodiment, also, the outer peripheral faces of the leg portion 122S
of the metallic end-piece member 120S and the leg portion 132 of the metallic bridge
member 130 respectively have spiral-shaped grooves 128 and 138 formed therein, and
flat faces 129 and 139 formed on the area between the turns of the spiral-shaped groove,
which have a greater width B than the width A of the groove. Because of this, the
inner peripheral face of the lens hole 1125 and the outer peripheral face of each
of the leg portions 122S and 132 come into approximately uniform contact with each
other, and accordingly a fixed attachment between the lens 110S, the metallic end-piece
member 120S and the metallic bridge member 130 is reliably established without producing
loosening in the connecting areas between them. In addition, since the contact between
the inner peripheral face of the lens hole 112S and the outer peripheral face of each
of the leg portions 122S and 132 is achieved on the flat face having a greater width,
the facial pressure on the eyeglass lens 110S is reduced, making the occurrence of
a fracture difficult.
[0045] The method of assembling and disassembling the rimless eyeglasses 1005 according
the second embodiment is the same as that in the aforementioned first embodiment,
and the character "U" attached to the reference numerals should be replaced and read
instead as "S".
[0046] Now, with respect to the aforementioned first and second embodiments, as enlarged
and illustrated in (A) of Fig. 4, the spiral-shaped grooves 128 and 138 respectively
formed in the outer peripheral faces of the leg portions 122U, 122S and 132 of the
metallic end-piece members 120U and 120S and the metallic bridge member 130, are in
the form of a single strip. However, instead of each of these spiral-shaped grooves
128 and 138, a plurality of strips may be formed as long as the flat faces 129 and
139, having a width B greater than the width A of the groove, are maintained.
[0047] Also, in the case of forming a plurality of strips, they may be formed by winding
the strips in directions different from each other.
[0048] An example of a spiral-shaped groove, which is formed by winding a plurality of strips
in different directions from each other is enlarged and shown in (B) of Fig. 4. In
the example shown in (B) of Fig. 4, three strips, wound in directions from each other,
are formed in a cylindrical leg portion. In this example, a concrete description is
given by adding the suffix "R" for strips wound to the right, the suffix "L" for the
strips wound to the left and the suffixes "1 to 3", in order, to represent the number
of each strip, For example, in the outer peripheral face of the leg portion 122U of
the metallic end-piece member 120U, the three spiral-shaped strips 128R1, 128R2 and
128R3 wound to the right and the three spiral-shaped strips 128L1, 128L2 and 128L3
wound to the left are formed in the cylindrical leg portion 122U. For reference, three
spiral shaped strips may be formed in the leg portions 122S and 132 of the metallic
end-piece member 120S and the metallic bridge member 130 in the same manner.
[0049] When forming a plurality of strips wound in directions different from each other
as described above, the use of a jig to apply a force that inhibits the cylindrical
leg portion from rolling in one direction when the strips are formed will facilitate
the forming process.
[0050] According to the aforementioned embodiments of the present invention, as is clear
from the forgoing, since it is possible to directly insert leg portions of the metallic
end-piece member 120S and the metallic bridge member 130 through lens holes of an
eyeglass lens made from plastic, a plastic component or the like used for cushioning
is unnecessary and a simply designed assembly can be achieved. In addition, since
the lens hole is a simply a single circular hole and an adhesive is used, high accuracy
is not required in the perforating process, making it possible to readily perform
the machining at the retail level.